Illustration by Kagan McLeod

7. TOILET-TOP SINK
Each year—
I feel a statistic coming on
— Americans flush down their toilets 12 trillion gallons of water, almost enough to fill Lake Champlain twice.
What do you want me to do, swim in it—before it gets to the bowl?
I want you to wash your hands in it—before it gets to the bowl. Neat trick.
Which you can pull off by installing the SinkPositive on top of your tank. It diverts the water from the intake hose, runs it through a faucet, and drains it into the tank.
That’s cold water, not very sanitary.
The SinkPositive isn’t meant to replace your sink. But it’s fine for a post-No. 1 rinse.
If I want to save water I can stick a brick in the tank.
Why not do both? Plus, if you’ve got a leak, you’ll see it. Which is no trifle, given that U.S. toilets leak 5 trillion gallons a year—roughly three months’ flow over Niagara Falls.
Is this a great country, or what?

VERDICT: If it fits, install it. Better still, replace your old water-guzzler with a new, efficient model that doesn’t make you flush twice.

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Table of Contents: Jun 18, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!